Straightening machine



1950 J. B. PICTON ET Al.

STRAIGHTENING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June ll, 1947 THE/ILATTORNEY March 231, 1950 J. B. PICTON ET AL 2,501,087

STRAIGHTENING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVENTOR5 ,M.awn, if BY Ila/67 f'YF/E ATTORNEY J. B. PICTON ETAL 2,501,087

STRAIGHTENING MACHINE March 211, 1950 Filed June 11, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheets A TfO/ZNEY March 21, 1950 J. B. PICTON ET AL 2,501,087

' STRAIGHTENING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 VE/VTORS v6.46 3344,; r/ WM 1-4-4 fl/F/Z A TTORNEY Patented Mar. 21, 1950 UNITEDSTATES ATENT OFFICE STRAIGHTENING MACHINE land Application June 11,1947, Serial No. 753,933 In Great Britain October 9, 1945 Section 1,Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires October 9, 19.65

'7 Claims.

1 This invention relates to straightening machines and refers moreparticularly to machines of the kind used for straightening rolledsections or other elements, and wherein the members to be straightenedare passed between two groups of straightening rolls usually arranged onparallel axes, the rolls of one group being staggered in relation to therolls of the other group, and being so disposed that the members arestraightened as they pass between the two groups.

The object of the present invention is to provide animprovedconstruction whereby the oper- 'ation of roll changing, which isnecessary for other housing and to enable the rolls to be withdrawn fromthe ends of their shafts for roll changing.

The means for moving the movable housing may consist of power-drivenscrew-and-nut mechanism.

Means are preferably provided for locking the two housings togetherduring the working periods of the machine, and such means may take theform of one or more ties hinged to one hous- 'ing and adapted to engagedetachably with the other housing.

The'bearings forthose ends of the roll shafts over which the rolls arewithdrawn when chang- "ing are preferably carried by the movable housingand move therewith, and these ends of the roll shafts are preferablytapered for easy ongagement with the bearings when the movable housingis replaced after roll changing.

The rolls may be built up in the known way on a number of separate discsmounted on a sleeve and retained against a shoulder on the roll shaft bymeans of a nut, and the sleeve is thus readily detachable from the shafttogether with the roll.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view.

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation.

Figure 3 is a sectional view in side elevation and on an enlarged 'scaleshowing the means for raising and lowering the shafts of the lower setof rollers.

Figure 4 is a part section on line 4 l of Fig ure 1.

Figure 5 is a section on line 55 of Figure l.

In the construction illustrated, the machine comprises a bed It uponwhich are mounted two spaced housings, a primary housing l i, and asecondary housing l2 supporting the two groups of parallel roll shaftsI3 which may be arranged horizontally. Means may be provided in one ofthe housings so that the roll shafts can be adjusted in an endwisedirection by a predetermined amount. Such means may incorporate abearing M in which a part of the shaft i3 is mounted'the outer part ofthis bearing being carried by a sleeve l5 which can move axially but isprevented from rotation by a key i'l engaging a keyway I 8 provided inthe primary housing I i The sleeve 15 is engaged by an adjusting nut 19operated by a worm 20 and the arrangement is such that when the worm isrotated the nut rotates on the screwed sleeve and moves it in an endwisedirection, this motion being transmitted to the shaft l 3 by the innerpart of the bearing M which engages between a shoulder 21 on the shaftand a sleeve 2'2 secured to the shaft.

Both of the housings H and I2 are mounted upon horizontal guides 23formed on the machine bed it, these guides being parallel and disposedat opposite sides of the bed. The base of each housing is provided withslides 24 of angle section for engaging these guides and clips 25 areprovided for locking the housings to the bed in various adjustedpositions.

Both housings are provided with bearings, preferably of the roller type,for supporting the roll shafts l3, and the secondary housing i2 isslidably mounted upon the machine bed, two parallel screws 25 beingprovided for this purpose engaging with saddle nuts 51 in pockets 58 inthe secondary housing l2, and power means being provided for operatingthese screws simultaneously. The said power means includes a power unit27 driving through worm gear 28, a transcarried by the movable housingI'2 are retained in the housing when the housing is moved away touncover one end of each roll shaft. Each of these bearings 42 has aninner rotating element 43 and an outer stationary element 44. Thestationary element engages at one side a shoulder 45 in the housing l2and is engaged at the opposite side by a rim 48 on a cap 4'! screwed tothe housin [2. The inner element of the bearing 42 is mounted on asleeve 48 having nuts 49 at one end of which it is locked to the saidinner bearing element, the sleeve 48 having a flange 50 at the oppositeend which engages the opposite end of the inner bearing element.

The two housings are locked together by a pair of ties while the machineis Working, and these ties consist of bars which are hinged at 52 tospaced lugs 53 on the top of the primary housing II, the bars 5|engaging between pairs of lugs 54 on the top of the secondary housingl2, nuts 55 being provided for locking the bars to this second housingwhich is the movable housing. The bars are provided with externalflanges 56 for engaging the inner end faces of the lugs 54.

Bolts 59 are provided in the lugs 53 to which the tie bars 5| arepivoted, and these bolts may be operable by levers BE! pivoted to thebolts at 6|, the said levers having noses 62 which can be turned toengage the sides of the lugs 53 for withdrawing the bolts from therecesses in the sides of the tie bars 5|.

Each of the rolls is made as a plurality of discs 63 mounted on a sleeve64 engaging a roll shaft I3 between a flange 65 and a removable lockingcollar 66.

The roll shaft l3 of each of the lower set of rollers is verticallyadjustable by mounting it in slides 61 engaging vertical guides 63 andby providing a vertical adjusting screw 69 for each of these slides.Each adjusting screw 69 is provided in a sleeve nut 16 which can beturned in a bearing in the housings l l and I2 by means of worms Hmounted upon worm shafts l2, 13. One of these shafts is positivelydriven by a power unit Ill and the two shafts are releasably coupledtogether by a coupling shown at 15 and incorporating a flange '16 on oneshaft provided with dog teeth and a sliding sleeve 1'! on the othershaft also provided with dog teeth. The sleeve 17 is acted upon by aspring 18 engaging a collar 59 to keep the teeth in engagement and asuitable stop is provided to prevent the sleeve from leaving the shaftwhen this coupling is released. One end of the shaft 73 is provided withan extension which engages in the end of the sleeve on the shaft 12.

When it is desired to change rolls the ties 51 are first released byslackening the nuts 55 at their ends and then withdrawing the bolt 59 asabove described. When this has been done the ties can be turned upwardlyso that the movable housing is released and the ties may be retained inthe said upward position by advancing the bolts 59, the noses of whichpass beneath the raised tie bars.

The couplings connecting the shafts l2, 13 are then released.

The screws 26 can then be operated which move the movable housing [2,and this is done after clamping means which clamp the foot of themovable housing to the guides on the bed of the machine have beenreleased.

What we claim then is:

1. A machine for straightening rolled sections or other elementscomprising a machine bed,

spaced primary and secondary housings mounted on the bed, the secondaryhousing being slidable on the bed towards and away from the primaryhousing, means for sliding the secondary housing along said bed, meansfor clamping the secondary housing to the bed in various adjustedpositions thereon, said primary and secondary housings having alinedopenings, sleeves in the openings of the primary housing, meanspreventing rotary movement of said sleeves, means on said primaryhousing for moving said sleeves axially, bearings in said sleeves, meanscausing said bearings to partake of the axial movements of said sleeves,a roll shaft having one end portion mounted in each of said bearings,said roll shaft having a shoulder engaging one end of the bearing, andhaving a sleeve engaging the other end of said bearing, a flange on thatpart of the roll shaft which is disposed between the housings, a sleeveon said roll shaft engaging the flange, a locking collar on the rollshaft engaging the other end of said sleeve, a roll mounted on each ofsaid sleeves on the roll shafts, and bearings in each of the openings inthe secondary housing, the other ends of the roll shafts engaging insaid bearings, the bearings in the secondary housing moving with thesecondary housing when it is moved along the bed so as to disengage fromthe roll shafts and allow the rolls to be removed from the roll shafts.

2. A machine for straightening rolled sections or other elementscomprising a machine bed, spaced primary and secondary housings mountedon the bed, the secondary housing being slidable on the bed towards andaway from the primary housing, means for sliding the secondary housingalong said bed, means for clamping the secondary housing to the bed invarious adjusted positions thereon, said primary and secondary housingshaving alined openings, sleeves in the openings of the primary housing,means preventing rotary movement of said sleeves, means on said primaryhousing for moving said sleeves axially, said means comprising nuts inthe housing mounted so that they can rotate but cannot move axially,said nuts engaging external threads on the sleeves, and worms in thehousing engaging worm teeth on the nuts, hearings in said sleeves, meanscausing said bearings to partake of the axial movements of said sleeves,a roll shaft having one end portion mounted in each of said bearings,said roll shaft having a shoulder engaging one end of the bearing, andhaving a sleeve engaging the other end of said bearing, a flange on thatpart of the roll shaft which is disposed between the housings, a sleeveon said roll shaft engaging the flange, a locking collar on the rollshaft engaging the other end of said sleeve, a roll mounted on each ofsaid sleeves on the roll shafts, and bearings in each of the openings inthe secondary housing, the other ends of the roll shafts engaging insaid bearings, the bearings in the secondary housing moving with thesecondary housing when it is moved along the bed so as to disengage fromthe roll shafts and allow the rolls to be removed from the roll shafts.

3. A machine for straightening rolled sections or other elementscomprising a machine bed, spaced primary and secondary housings mountedon the bed, the secondary housing being slidable on the bed towards andaway from the primary housing, means for sliding the secondary housingalong said bed, means for clamping the secondary housing to the bed invarious adjusted positions thereon, said primary and secondary housingshaving al-ined openings, sleeves in the openings of the primaryhousing,means preventing rotary movement of said sleeves, means on said primaryhousing for moving said sleeves axially, hearings in said sleeves, meanscausing said bearings to partake of the axial movements of said sleeves,a roll shaft having one end porflange, a locking collar on the rollshaft engaging the other end of said sleeve, a roll mounted on each ofsaid sleeves on the roll shafts, and bearings in each of the openings inthe secondary housing, each of said bearings having an outer elementengaging means in the opening of the housing which prevent the elementfrom making axial movements, and each of said bearings having a rotaryinner element in which is mounted a bearing sleeve locked against axialmovement relatively to the bearing, the other ends of the roll shaftsengaging in and being supported by said bearing sleeves, and thebearings in the secondary housing moving with the secondary housing whenit is moved along the bed so as to disengage from the roll shafts andallow the rolls to be removed from the roll shafts.

4. A machine for straightening rolled sections or other elementscomprising a machine bed, spaced primary and secondary housings mountedon the bed, the secondary housing being slidable on the bed towards andaway from the primary housing, means for sliding the secondary housingalong said bed, means for clamping th secondary housing to the bed invarious adjusted positions thereon, said primary and secondary housingshaving alined openings, sleeves in the openings of the primary housing,means preventing rotary movement of said sleeves, means on said primaryhousing for moving said sleeves axially, bearings in said sleeves, meanscausing said bearings to partake of the axial movements of said sleeves,a roll shaft having one end portion mounted in each of said bearings,said roll shaft having a shoulder engaging one end of the bearing, andhaving a sleeve engaging the other end of said bearing, a flange on thatpart of the roll shaft which is disposed between the housings, a sleeveon said roll shaft engaging the flange, a locking collar on the rollshaft engaging the other end of said sleeve, a roll mounted on each ofsaid sleeves on the roll shafts, bearings in each of the openings in thesecondary housing, the other ends of the roll shafts engaging in saidbearings, the bearings in the secondary housing moving with thesecondary housing when it is moved along the bed so as to disengage fromthe roll shafts and allow the rolls to be removed from the roll shafts,a pair of lugs on the top of the primary housing, a pair of lugs on thetop of the secondary housing, a tie bar pivoted to the lugs on theprimary housing, said tie bar having a shoulder for engaging one pair ofends of the lugs on the secondary housing, nuts on the ends of the tiebars for engaging the other pair of ends of the lugs on the secondaryhousing.

5. .A machine for straightening rolled sections or other elementscomprising a machine bed, spaced primary and secondary housings mountedon the bed, the secondary housing being slidable on the bed towards andaway from the primary housing, n'iean's for sliding the secondaryhousing along said bed, means for clamping the secondary housing to thebed in various adjusted positions thereon, said primary and secondaryhousings having *alined openings, sleeves in the openings of the primaryhousing, means preventing rotary movement of said sleeves, means on saidprimary housing for moving said sleeves axially, bearings in saidsleeves, means causing said bearings to partake of the axial movementsof said sleeves, a roll shaft having one end portion mounted in each ofsaid bearings, said roll shaft having a shoulder engaging one end of thebearing, and having a sleev engaging the other end of said bearing, aflange on that part of the roll shaft which is disposed between thehousings, a sleeve on said roll shaft engaging the flange, a lockingcollar on the roll shaft engaging the other end of said sleeve, a rollmounted on each of said sleeves on the roll shafts, bearings in each ofthe openings in the secondary housing, the other ends of the roll shaftsengaging in said bearings, the bearings in the secondary housing movingwith the secondary housing when it is moved along the bed so as todisengage from the roll shafts and allow the rolls to be removed fromthe roll shafts, a pair of lugs on the top of the primary housing, apair of lugs on the top of the secondary housing, a tie bar pivoted tothe legs on the primary housing, said tie bar having a shoulder forengaging one pair of ends of the lugs on the secondary housing, nuts onthe ends of the tie bars for engaging the other pair of ends of th lugson the secondary housing, a bolt in the lugs on the primary housing, anda lever on the bolt for operating it, said bolt being movable into aposition in which it supports the tie bar in a raised position after ithas been released from the lugs on the secondary housing.

6. A machine for straightening rolled sections or other elementscomprising a machine bed, spaced primary and secondary housings mountedon the bed, the secondary housing being slidable on the bed towards andaway from the primary housing, means for sliding the secondary housingalong said bed, said means comprising bearings on the bed, power drivenscrews in said bearings, saddle nuts in pockets in the secondary housingengaged by said screws, means for clamping the secondary housing to thebed in various adjusted positions thereon, said primary and secondaryhousings having alined openings, sleeves in the openings of the primarhousing, means preventing rotary movement of said sleeves, means on saidprimary housing for moving said sleeves axially, bearings in saidsleeves, means causing said bearings to partake of the axial movementsof said sleeves, a roll shaft having one end portion mounted in each ofsaid bearings, said roll shaft having a shoulder engaging one end of thebearing, and having a sleeve engaging the other end of said bearing, aflange on that part of the roll shaft which is disposed between thehousings, a sleeve on said roll shaft engaging the flange, a lockingcollar on the roll shaft engaging the other end of said sleeve, a rollmounted on each of said sleeves on the roll shafts, and bearings in eachof the openings in the secondary housing, the other ends of the rollshafts engaging in said bearings, the bearings in the secondary housingmoving with the secondary housing when it is moved along the bed so asto disengage from the roll shafts and allow th rolls to be removed fromthe roll shafts.

1. A machine for straightening rolled sections or other elementscomprising a machine bed, spaced primary and secondary housings mountedon the bed, and projecting upwardly therefrom, said primary andsecondary housings having two sets of alined openings containingbearings, one set for a group of upper roll shafts and the other set fora group of lower r011 shafts, roll shafts in said bearings, rolls onsaid roll shafts, vertical guides in said housing, slides in saidguides, the bearings for the lower roll shafts being mounted in saidslides, screws for raising and lowering said slides, captive nuts insaid housings engaged by said screws, and power operated means forrotating said nuts, said power operated means including a two part shaftsupported in bearings in said housings and having gear means engagingsaid captive nuts, the two parts of the 8 shaft being releasably coupledtogether so as to permit of the sliding movement of the secondaryhousing.

JOHN BURLEY PICTON. ERNEST LAMBERT TINLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent

